rice

The United States continues to work with other countries in ironing out the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. On Monday, Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, met with agricultural leaders in Vietnam to discuss the agreement.

Vietnam is one of 12 countries involved with the TPP and is considered as one of the fastest growing agricultural markets for the U.S. Some of the top products for the Vietnam market are grown in Arkansas, such as cotton, rice, and soybeans.

US Representative Rick Crawford is taking a trip to Cuba next month to work on opening up markets in that country for trade. Crawford says commodities, such as American-grown crops, can go to Cuba now, but there are hefty restrictions that make trade difficult:

He says two top staples that are grown in Arkansas meet a huge demand in Cuba:

Arkansas leads the nation in the amount of rice grown and is the second largest poultry producer in the United States. Crawford’s trip takes place April sixth through the ninth.

Farm Bill regulations, women in agriculture, and conservation are some of the topics to be discussed at the 2016 Arkansas Rice Meeting Friday. KAIT-TV reports Congressman Rick Crawford and Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward will be speaking at the annual conference. Arkansas is the highest ranking rice producing state accounting for more than 50% of the US’s rice production in 2014. The meeting will be held at the Arkansas State University Con

Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be joining a group of Arkansas agricultural business interests on a trade trip to Cuba later this month.

The delegation is being led by the Rogers-based World Trade Center Arkansas and is expected to include representatives from Tyson Foods, Riceland Foods and other in-state agri-related businesses. The dates of the trip are Sept. 28-30.

In an interview with KASU, U.S. Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR) discussed the safety of rice products and the need for a new Farm Bill. He also addressed the rejection of a veteran's jobs bill in the Senate, and talked about his campaign for re-election. Click on the link for the entire interview.